Actor Keanu Reeves (The Matrix, Animatrix, Johnny Mnemonic) told MTV News that the proposed live-action Cowboy Bebop film project is currently being rewritten. During a press event for The Private Lives of Pippa Lee film, he said, “There’s a draft of the script, but the writer did such a great job [that] in order to make the movie, you would need half a billion dollars. […] So the studio went, ‘This movie is fantastic and it would cost half a billion dollars. So he’s doing a rewrite.” Reeves added that the producers are “just trying to pull it back” in scope, and “the only challenge was to make a satisfying western narrative.”

Is apparently moot. Yes, moot. No I am not fucking kidding you. It’s 4chan’s moot. And in second place is Anwar Ibrahim LOL! That’s even more unbelievable than moot! Hell, Obama’s 37th on the list, ROFL.

Bah, Kinokuniya really has a spell on me. Went there and ordered Negima OAD 3 and bought The Record of a Fallen Vampire Vol.4 and The Gentlemen’s Alliance Cross (my guilty shoujo pleasure). Did I mention I also blew RM 100 on lunch earlier at Traders Hotel nearby? Well, the Hokkaido scallops were worth it…. :D

I have got to say though, Record of a Fallen Vampire is shaping up to be one of the best vampire manga I’ve read. Starting from vampire vs human vs dhampir, it sprung a huge twist involving foreign invaders, making it one of the best pageturners I’ve had in a while. I already can’t wait for the next volume even as soon as I’ve finished the one I just bought.

I’m also quite liking the complicated and mysterious backstory revolving around RotFV’s “hero”, Akabara Strauss and his relationships with his Queen, Adelheid, and Bridget, who used to look up to him as a father-figure. The story just keeps throwing surprising revelations around it making another important plot line to follow alongside the main one in the present. The presentation of both plotlines also intertwine very well, with neither affecting each other too much.

The next volume seems to finally focus on that backstory as well, as the main plot in the present takes a bit of a break from the action that was continuously going on since the beginning. I do really want to know what happened that lead to Akabara to betray his people and go on a 1000-year quest for revenge.

Right, I’ll end the promotional blurb for RotFV here (which was actually the point of this post anyways). I can hear my wallet lamenting now on how I am gonna explain this dire financial situation I’m facing right now…

Yeah, so apparently my electricity got cut due to a billing error so I had to spend the whole day spamming calls to my utilities provider to reconnect it back. Nope. No luck with getting the Goddess Relief Agency. Sigh… shit happens in big doses doesn’t it?

There is really something about reading a book on a quiet, rainy night while Bob Dylan plays in the background.

In short, I just finished my first Haruki Murakami book and I guess this begins another burden on my wallet as I want to read more of Haruki Murakami. I have thank/blame saturnine for his impromptu book recommendation the other day we met, although I’ve already been quite interested to read Haruki for a while.

On the book itself, I must say it was a really engaging read, but it was still simple enough that I could put the book away for a long time and come back to it without feeling lost. I think it’s the lack of proper names that made that possible. Referring everyone directly to their role in the story is actually makes the story stick to my memory easier. It’s also how I remember people in real life too. I almost never remember anyone’s proper names, but instead store them as nicknames/Internet handles/short descriptions.

One thing that really jumps out to me is how the End of the World portions eerily mirror the premise of Haibane Renmei closely that I couldn’t help draw parallels to it, even though I’m aware that the book was written 17 years before it was even conceived. Perhaps Yoshitoshi ABe was a big fan of Haruki too.

Hmm.. I wonder which title should I get next to read? Thinking of getting Norwegian Wood next since it’s in chronological order after Hard-boiled.

This picture is for decorative purposes and has nothing to do with the content of this post at all.

I’m happy to say I achieved both aims today, with little hassle, except for the fact that Kinokuniya is really, REALLY good at tugging on my purse-.. or shall I say, my wallet-strings. Not only did they have Superior Saturday, but they also had Honey & Clover Vol. 2 (on 20% discount too!), The Gentlemen’s Alliance Cross Vol. 6, ARIA Vol.2, Trinity Blood:RatM Vol. 3, Missing Vol. 2, Shinigami no Ballad Vol. 1, a bunch of interesting looking new titles and finally, Full Metal Panic! Vol.3. Dear god, I nearly crapped when I saw the big pile I grabbed after browsing through the manga section.

I swear, every time I go to Kino, I get a really huge urge to buy books. I suspect they have subliminal messages embedded in their store-wide music (mostly classical pieces) compelling me to buy, buy and buy.

In the end, managed to cut the purchases down to Superior Saturday, FMP! Vol.3, Trinity Blood:RatM Vol.3 and Hachikuro Vol.2, which came up to about RM 115. Sigh, if it wasn’t for the crap exchange rate making the prices of the books 3x higher, I’d have bought the whole stack I took, plus a bit more. Would’ve been funny if I descended to credit hell from buying all the volumes of Negima! or something, haha.

Anyways, blazing through Superior Saturday now. Garth Nix doesn’t disappoint. The Keys to the Kingdom series must have one of the most original fantasy-sci-fi combo settings of recent young adult fiction titles. Gotta love Suz- sorry, General Turquoise Blue now :).

P.S.: Goddammit, I can’t seem to stop looping the Rinbu Revolution duet by Masami Okui and Nana Mizuki in Animelo 2007. I swear, the song is well meant to be a duet song, and this rendition by Nana-chan and Masami is just fits soooo well.

Click for the full article.

LOL. I totally missed this, even when I had the hard copy right under my nose. I can’t believe I only knew about this from a Singaporean (for the record, you guys are the most self-centered cold bastards in the world).

Suddenly, I feel like following back Aunt Thelma’s column. I used to read it regularly… but it got too repetitive. I just gotta love “her” answer. “Put it on Youtube!” LOL.